Percy Jackson and the Curse of Olympus
by SonOfPoseidon95
Summary: Kronos had been playing the Prophecy from the very beginning, manipulating Ares and Luke to steal Zeus's Lightning Bolt, poisoning Thalia's tree, which led to the quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece, before the battle of Manhattan, he has a final chance to manipulate the Prophecy... Full summary inside! Percabeth, ThaliaxOC. DISCLAIMER: I don't own Percy Jackson, Uncle Rick does!
1. Prologue

Hey guys, SonOfPoseidon95 here with my first ever fanfiction! This story is hopefully going to lead into the Heroes of Olympus series. This is set in pretty much the same Percy Jackson world, but with an important OC, so a lot of the situations and events in the original series will be changed. Of course, this story will be Percabeth, and will also be ThaliaxOC, which is hinted at in this Prologue. I hope you enjoy!

Full Summary: Kronos had been playing the Prophecy from the very beginning, manipulating Ares and Luke to steal Zeus's Lightning Bolt, poisoning Thalia's tree, which led to the quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece, reviving Thalia, striking her with lightning in an attempt to manipulate her, tempting her with the Ophiotaurus, taking Luke's body as a host. Before his march on Olympus, Kronos takes one final attempt to sway the prophecy, by returning someone who had been banished to Tartarus; someone who Percy didn't even know existed. Percabeth, ThaliaOC.

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN PERCY JACKSON, ONLY MY OC.**

_Something strange always happened when Percy Jackson revealed that he was a son of Poseidon._

_Firstly, Chiron mumbling something that sounded like, "_another_ son of Poseidon?"_

_**Monsters would initially fear him, then seem to realise he was not who they thought he was.**_

_**Hades frowning at him on their first meeting and muttering, "Poseidon never was good at controlling himself."**_

_And then Thalia Grace came along, and things got a lot more complicated and confusing._

_**Her first words… "Is he okay? Did he survive?"**_

_**She only needed a glance at Grover and Chiron to realise that whoever HE was, he was gone, Chiron nor Grover ever revealed who it was.**_

_**Percy always had the feeling she wasn't talking about Luke.**_

_**The daughter of Zeus always seemed to carry sadness and anger in her eyes, one that Percy could never find the source of.**_

_**The way she had screamed at Luke, "how could you betray him?" and the momentary shock on the son of Hermes' face.**_

_**The silent communication that seemed to go on between her and the Gods when she was offered the place as Artemis' lieutenant, and the look of depression but realisation that crossed her face, and the evident reluctance in her acceptance.**_

_**The look of guilt and understanding on Artemis' face was one Percy never would forget.**_

_**But still, Thalia never revealed what had happened, why she was so sad all the time, and why she had been so reluctant to join.**_

_**Annabeth always drew a blank on the subject as well.**_

_**Only Chiron and Grover knew, and apparently Luke as well, but none of them revealed the truth.**_

_**It was only two weeks before Percy's sixteenth birthday that he finally found out the truth. The mission to blow up the Princess Andromeda came much earlier than Percy expected, with two weeks left until his sixteenth, he assumed he had more time.**_

_**He assumed wrong.**_

_**But before we can resume the story on the 4**__**th**__** of August, the day of Percy and Beckendorf's attack of the Andromeda, we must go to a fateful nine years before the Second Titan War. The night started with screaming and shouting, misery and pain, the monsters laying siege to a New York apartment, with a brave young boy making a sacrifice for the sake of his family, but ending with the formation of a new family, made up of four young demigods.**_

He ran, and ran, and ran, as fast as his twelve-year-old legs could carry him. One thought ramming itself back and forth in his mind.

_Why?_

Why was it always the bad things that happened to him and his poor baby brother? They had rushed into the apartment building for hours, refusing to give up until the two young children had been slaughtered.

Strange things always happened, but he knew why. They were demigods. Powerful ones at that, a very strong scent for the monsters.

But his poor brother didn't understand. He was too young.

Their mother always said that he needed to protect his brother from the monsters, because he was older he understood, and could use what she had taught him properly.

She wanted to make sure that his little brother didn't know about the monsters until he was much older, as knowledge would strengthen this strange smell that the monsters could track.

He had stood in front of their apartment door for hours, slashing and stabbing and cutting his way through hundreds of monsters, each wave more terrifying and lethal than the last.

By the time they had all been turn to yellow dust and sent back to Tantalus… wait, that wasn't it… oh yeah, it was Tartarus, he had come to a decision.

He gave his little brother a kiss on the forehead, grabbed a bag and stuffed it full of clothes and some food and drink, and left, sword in his right hand, bag slung over his left shoulder and tears in his eyes.

He'd never even had a chance to say goodbye to his mother, just a quick scribbled note to let her know he was leaving for their safety.

Maybe, just maybe, if he could reach that Camp place his mum had told him about he could Iris message her, if they allowed demigods to contact their mortal parents using that method.

He'd have to find the place first.

It was only then that he realised he hadn't been running in any specific direction, nor had he paid attention to his surroundings.

He was utterly lost.

Suddenly, his senses felt enhanced, like they always did when he was about to engage in combat.

He heard the twig snap and leapt into action, disarming all three of them within seconds.

Wait what?

Monsters never usually had weapons, they usually relied on some sort of creepy body part that was designed to wound and maim.

He stared darkly into the faces of three other humans, seemingly demigods from the Celestial bronze weapons he had taken off them. He took a moment to study them.

The first was a boy, maybe a couple years older than he was, with sandy blonde hair and blue eyes, the boy's mouth was wide open in an O shape, which almost made him smirk.

The second was a young blonde girl with startling, intense grey eyes, that, even though she was weaponless, still seemed to be analysing his strengths and weaknesses, looking, plotting for a way to still take him down. Wasn't much of a stretch for him to assume that she was a daughter of Athena.

The final person made his heart skip a beat.

She. Was. Beautiful.

She had middle length black hair and startling, beautiful electric blue eyes, she seemed to be the same age as him, and she seemed as stunned as the blonde haired boy at the skills he had shown.

With a slight smirk, he threw the trio back their weapons; they caught them with relative ease.

The silent standoff continued for a few moments before the blonde haired boy spoke.

"How in Hades did you pull that off?"

He shrugged.

"Not the talkative type?" the little blonde girl asked, and he met her eyes, and it looked like she was trying to read his entire life story from one glance.

"Been a rough night," he replied, not feeling confident enough to look at the black haired girl again.

"Well, that was some manoeuvre you pulled off, we could use a fighter like you, the amount of fights we end up getting into," the blonde haired boy said, he noticed that as that was said, the black haired girl seemed to huff and roll her eyes, mumbling something along the lines of: "and most of them are your fault."

"What are your names?" he asked, directing the question at the stunning black haired girl in front of him. Her confidence seemed to falter under his gaze, and her face seemed to turn slightly red.

"His name is Luke, this is Annabeth, and I'm Thalia," she said, her slip in confidence appearing to be just that, a slip.

"Demigods, from the looks of your weapons?" he queried, raising an eyebrow at Luke.

"Yeah, and I'd guess the same of you from your abilities, and, well, that badass sword you've got there, are you from Camp?" Luke asked, indicating towards the sword in question as he spoke.

The sword itself was a gift from his father, his Godly father, it could be disguised quite handily as a USB stick, when he removed the top, it turned into a lethal Celestial Bronze sword, and then returned again once he put the top back on. It was magic, so it always returned to his pocket.

In response to Luke's question, he shook his head.

"No, but I was just about to try and find my way there, do you know whereabouts we are, and where Camp is?" he asked, searching the three other demigods' faces for answers.

"We're probably fifteen miles outside of New York City, and we're hoping that Camp will send a satyr to meet us soon," Thalia replied. Whenever he made eye contact with her, a spark seemed to shoot down his spine, and a tingling sensation would form in his stomach.

It took him a moment to register what Thalia had said.

He ran fifteen miles in one night. _Fifteen_.

"If you guys will take me, I'd be more than happy to join your ranks," he finally answered, smiling at the trio.

Maybe it was his imagination, but Thalia's face seemed to light up at his answer, but he tried not to get his hopes up.

Luke stepped forward and clasped him on the shoulder.

"Welcome to our little family pal, can't believe we haven't asked this yet, what's _your _name?" he asked.

"The name is Laurence," he replied with a smile, feeling remarkably better than he had minutes ago, his old family was safe now that he was gone, and he had found a new family that he could fight side by side with.

Laurence didn't know it then, but he only had a few short weeks left with this life.

He would fight alongside his companions, they would reach Camp with the help of a satyr named Grover, he would bond with Luke as a brother, Annabeth as a sister, and Thalia as something a little bit more, until the two of them were claimed, practically a death sentence for them.

What would in the end, prove to be a death sentence for them.

One was protected from death by being turned into a magical Pine tree.

The other had a more haunting and terrifying experience in store for them, one that would eventually, either destroy, or preserve Olympus.

EOC

**What do you think of this prologue? Chapter one will take place at the beginning of the Last Olympian, but as hinted at in this prologue, the events take place a week before they do in the original, two weeks before Percy's birthday. Some chapters will seem very very close to the original story, but then it takes off at a tangent.**

**Question: would anyone reading this like the remaining chapters to be POV or written in third person?**

**Every read and review is much appreciated!**

**~SOP95 out~**


	2. The Titan Lord Gives Me A Headache

Hey guys, welcome to the first chapter of Percy Jackson and the Curse of Olympus. As I mentioned, some of these chapters are very close to the original chapters from the Last Olympian, but they will progressively drift away from that.

The end of the world started two weeks before my sixteenth birthday, when my pegasus decided to land on the hood of the car I was borrowing from my stepdad. Up until that moment I was having a pretty chill day, my mom and stepdad, Paul, had taken me and my friend Rachel to this private stretch of beach on the South Shore, with Paul letting us borrow his Prius for a spin, even though I wasn't sixteen yet, so technically wasn't supposed to be driving.

You're probably thinking, "Wow, that's irresponsible."

Well, Paul's seen me slice up hideous monsters and leap out of buildings that I may or may not have set on fire.

So, anyway, Rachel and I were driving along, and it was a pretty hot August day. Rachel's bright red hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail and she was wearing a white blouse over her swimsuit. Up until this point I had never seen her in anything other than ratty T-shirts and paint-splattered jeans before (apart from the time she was completely gold. Yeah, she's an interesting girl alright.), she looked like a million golden drachmas.

"Oh, pull up right there!" she instructed me.

We ended up parking on a ridge that was overlooking the Atlantic. The sea is always one my favourite places to be, but today, it was looking especially nice – sparkling green, reflecting the suns rays, and as smooth as glass, it was almost like my dad was keeping it especially calm just for us.

My dad? Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea. So yeah, he can do stuff like that.

"So," Rachel said, turning to me and smiling, "about that invitation."

"Oh… Right." I tried my hardest to sound excited. She had invited me to her family's vacation house on St Thomas for three days. It was extremely rare that I got offers like that. My family's idea of a fancy vacation was a weekend in a rundown cabin on Long Island with some rental movies and a few frozen pizzas; Rachel's parents were willing to let me tag along with them to the Caribbean.

In any case, I seriously needed a vacation. This summer had been the toughest of my life. The idea of taking a break for even a few days was really tempting.

But I was "on call" for a vitally important mission. Even worse, in a couple of weeks was my birthday. There was this prophecy that said when I turned sixteen, I would decide the fate of the world.

So yeah, you can understand why a vacation sounded extremely appealing.

"Percy," Rachel began, "I know the timing is bad. But it's _always _bad for you, right?"

She had a very good point.

"I do really want to go, Rachel," I promised her, "It's just -"

"The war."

I nodded in response. I didn't like talking about the war, but Rachel knew about it. Unlike most mortals, she had the ability to see through the Mist – the magic veil that distorts humans' vision, allowing monsters to disguise themselves. But Rachel had seen monsters. In fact, the first time we'd met I had almost stabbed her. She'd met other demigods as well, who were fighting the Titans and their allies. She'd even been there last summer, when the chopped-up Lord Kronos rose out of his coffin in a terrible new form, and she had earned my permanent respect when she'd nailed him in the eye with a blue plastic hairbrush.

She placed a hand on my arm.

"Just think about it, okay? We still don't leave for a couple of days. My dad…" Her voice faltered.

"Is he giving you a hard time?" I asked her.

Rachel shook her head in disgust.

"He's trying to be _nice _to me," she said, in a tone that made the prospect seem entirely alien, "which is _definitely _worse. He wants me to go to Clarion Ladies' Academy in the autumn."

"The school where your mom went?"

"It's a stupid finishing school for society girls, all the way in New Hampshire. Can you see me in finishing school?" she asked, giving me a look that just screamed, "I dare you to not agree with me."

I didn't need the look to make me agree with her that the idea sounded pretty dumb. Rachel was into urban art projects and feeding the homeless and going to protest rallies to 'Save the Endangered Yellow-Bellied Sap Sucker,' and that sorta stuff. I'd never even seen her wear a dress. It was extremely hard for me to imagine her learning to be a socialite.

She sighed.

"He thinks if he does a bunch of nice stuff for me, I'll feel guilty and give in."

"Which is why he agreed to let me come with you guys on vacation?" I guessed.

"Yes… but, Percy, you'd be doing me a huge favour. It would be _so _much better if you were there with us. Besides, there's something I want to talk -" she stopped abruptly.

"Something you want to talk about?" I asked, "You mean… something so important that we have to go to St Thomas to talk about it?"  
She pursed her lips.

"Look, just forget it for now. Let's just pretend that we're a couple of normal teenagers. We're out for a drive, and we're watching the ocean, and it's just nice to be spending time together."

I could tell that something was bothering her, but she'd put on a brave smile, the sunlight making her hair look like fire. We had spent a lot of time together during that summer. I hadn't exactly planned it to be that way. It was just… the more serious that things got with camp, the more I'd find myself calling her up just to get away from it all and have a bit of breathing room. I found myself needing to have a reminder that there was a normal mortal world still existed, away from all the monsters that wanted to use me as a their personal punching bag.

"Okay," I agreed, "Just a normal afternoon and two normal teenagers."

She nodded in response to my statement.

"And so… hypothetically, if these two normal teenagers liked each other, what would it take to get the stupid teenage boy to kiss the girl, huh?"

"Oh…" I felt like one of Apollo's sacred cows – slow, dumb and bright red. "Ummmm…" I managed to respond.

I couldn't deny that I hadn't thought about Rachel in _that _way. She was so much easier to be around than… well, some of the other girls that I knew. I didn't have to work hard whilst I was with her, I didn't have to watch what I said, or wrack my brain trying to figure out what she was thinking. Rachel definitely didn't hide much, she often would let you know what she thought and felt.

I'm really not sure what I would have done next if I'm honest, but I was so distracted I didn't notice the huge black form swooping down from the sky until four hooves landed on the front of the Prius with a deafening WUMP-WUMP-CRUNCH!

_Yo, boss, _a voice in my head said. _Sweet ride you got!_

Blackjack the pegasus was an old friend of mine, so I desperately tried not to get too annoyed at the huge craters he'd just slammed into the hood of the car, but I imagined that Paul Blofis wouldn't be too stoked about them.

Not exactly a "Pimp My Ride," sort of decoration.

"Blackjack!" I sighed, "What are you -"

It was then I noticed who was riding on the back of my pegasus, and I realised that my day was about to get a whole lot more complicated.

"'Sup Percy."

Charles Beckendorf, senior counsellor for the Hephaestus cabin, would make most monsters cry for their mommies just by looking at him. He was huge, with ripped muscles from working in the forges at camp every summer. He was two years older than me and was one of the camp's best armour-smiths. He'd made some seriously ingenious mechanical stuff. A month before, he'd rigged a Greek fire bomb in the bathroom of a tour bus that was carrying a whole bunch of monsters across the country. The explosion took out a whole legion of Kronos's evil meanies as soon as the first Harpy went _flush_.

That gives you a slight idea of the mechanical genius that was sat atop Blackjack.

It was then that I realised that Beckendorf was dressed for combat. He wore a bronze breastplate and war helm with black camo pants and a sword strapped to his side. His explosives bag was slung over his shoulder.

"Time?" I asked meekly.

He nodded grimly at me. I felt a lump form in my throat. I'd known that this was coming, we'd been planning at for weeks back at Camp Half-Blood, but I'd half hoped it would never happen.

Rachel looked up from the passenger seat at Beckendorf.

"Hi."

"Oh, hey. I'm Beckendorf. You must be Rachel. Percy's told me… uh, I mean he mentioned you."

Rachel raised an eyebrow at me, a small smirk playing on her face.

"Really? Good." She then glanced at Blackjack, who was clopping his hooves against the hood, seemingly anxious to get flying again. "I take it you guys go and save the world now."

"Pretty much." Beckendorf agreed.

I looked at Rachel helplessly.

"Would you tell my mom –"

"I'll tell her. I'm sure she's used to it. And I'll explain to Paul about the new décor on the hood of his car."

I nodded my thanks, figuring that this was probably the last time I loaned Paul's car.

"Good luck." Rachel kissed me before I could even react. "Now get going, half-blood. Go kill some monsters for me."

My last view of her was sitting in the shotgun seat of the Prius, her arms crossed, watching as Blackjack circled higher and higher, carrying Beckendorf and me into the sky. I wondered what Rachel had wanted to talk to me about, and whether I'd end up living long enough to find out.

"So," Beckendorf said, turning back slightly in his seat and smirking at me, "I'm guessing you don't want me to mention any of that little scene to Annabeth."

"Oh gods," I muttered. "Don't even think about it."

Beckendorf chuckled, and together we soared out over the Atlantic.

It was dark by the time we spotted our target. The Princess Andromeda glowed on the horizon – a huge cruise ship lit up by yellow and white. From a distance, you'd think it was just a party ship, not the headquarters for the Titan lord. Then, as you got closer, you might notice the giant figurehead – a dark-haired maiden in a Greek chiton, wrapped in chains with a look of horror on her face, as if she could smell the stench of all the monsters that she was being forced to carry.

Just seeing the ship again managed to twist my stomach into knots. I'd almost died twice on the Princess Andromeda. Now it was heading straight for my hometown of New York.

We had to stop it.

"You know what to do?" Beckendorf yelled over the wind.

I nodded. We'd been doing dry runs at the dockyards in New Jersey, using abandoned ships as our targets. I knew how little time we would have. But I also knew this was our best chance to end Kronos's invasion before it had ever started.

"Blackjack," I said, "set us down on the lowest stern deck."

_Gotcha, boss,_ he said. _Man, I hate seeing that boat_.

Three years ago, Blackjack had been enslaved on the Princess Andromeda until he'd escaped with a little help from my friends and me. I figured he'd rather have his mane braided like My Little Pony than be back here again.

"Don't wait for us," I told him.

But, boss –

"Trust me," I said. "We'll get out by ourselves."

Blackjack folded his wings and plummeted towards the boat like a black comet. The wind whistled in my ears. I saw monsters patrolling the upper decks of the ship – dracaenae snake-women, hellhounds, giants and the humanoid sea-lion demons known as telkhines – but we zipped by so fast none of them raised the alarm. We shot down the stern of the boat and Blackjack spread his wings, lightly coming to a landing on the lowest deck. I climbed off, feeling slightly queasy.

_Good luck, boss_, Blackjack said. _ Don't let 'em turn ya into horsemeat!_

And with that, my old friend flew off into the night. I took my pen out of my pocket, uncapped it, and Riptide sprang to full size – one metre of deadly celestial bronze glowing in the dusk.

Beckendorf pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. I thought it was a map or something. Then I realised it was a photograph. He stared at it in the dim light – the smiling face of Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite. They'd started going out last summer, after years of the rest of us saying, 'Duh, you guys like each other!' Even with all the dangerous missions, Beckendorf has been happier this summer than I'd ever seen him.

"We'll make it back to camp," I promised.

For a second I saw worry in his eyes. Then he put on his old confident smile.

"You bet," he said. "Let's go blow Kronos back into a million pieces."

Beckendorf led the way. We followed a narrow corridor to the service stairwell, just like we'd practised, but we froze when we heard noises above us.

"I don't care what your nose says!" snarled a half-human, half-dog voice – a telkhine. "The last time you smelled half-blood, it turned out to be a meatloaf sandwich!"

"Meatloaf sandwiches are good!" a second voice snarled. "But this is half-blood scent, I swear. They are on board!"

"Bah, your _brain _isn't on board!"

They continued to argue, and Beckendorf pointed downstairs. We descended as quietly as we could. Two floors down, the voices of the telkhines started to fade.

Finally, we came to a metal hatch. Beckendorf mouthed the words,_ Engine room_.

It was locked, but Beckendorf pulled some chain cutters out of his bag and split the bolt like it was made of butter.

Inside, a row of yellow turbines the size of grain silos churned and hummed. Pressure gauges and computer terminals lined the opposite wall. A telkhine was hunched over a console, but he was so engrossed with his work he didn't notice us. He was about a metre and a half tall, with slick black sea-lion fur and stubby little feet. He had the head of a Doberman, but his clawed hands were almost human. He growled and muttered as he tapped on his keyboard. Maybe he was messaging his friends on .

I stepped forward and he tensed, probably smelling that something was wrong. He leaped sideways towards a big red alarm button, but I blocked his path. He hissed and lunged at me, but one slice of Riptide and he exploded into dust.

"One down," Beckendorf said. "About five thousand to go." He tossed me a jar of thick green liquid – Greek fire, one of the most dangerous magical substances in the world. Then he threw me another essential tool of demigod heroes – duct tape.

"Slap that one on the console," he said. "I'll get the turbines."

We went to work. The room was hot and humid, and within no time we were drenched in sweat.

The boat kept chugging along. Being the son of Poseidon and all, I have perfect bearings at sea. Don't ask me how, but I knew we were at 40.19° north, 71.90° west, making eighteen knots an hour, which meant the ship would arrive in New York Harbor by dawn.

This would be our only chance to stop it.

I had only just attached a second jar of Greek fire to the control panels when I heard the pounding of feet on metal steps – so many creatures coming down the stairwell I could hear them over the engines.

I'm not a genius or anything, but I'd say that wasn't a good sign.

I caught Beckendorf's gaze.

"How much longer?" I asked, a look of frustration drifted over Beckendorf's face.

"Too long." He tapped his watch, which was our remote control detonator. "I still have to wire the receiver and prime the charges. Without a doubt that's gonna take me ten minutes at least."

Judging from the sound of the footsteps, we barely had about ten seconds.

"I'll distract them," I said. "Meet you at the rendezvous point."

"Percy –"

"Wish me luck."

He looked like he wanted to argue his point with me. The whole idea of the plan had been to get in and out without being spotted. But we were going to have to improvise.

He frowned slightly at that fact, but nonetheless wished me good luck.

I charged out of the door.

Half a dozen telkhines were waiting for me on the other side, tromping down the stairs. I cut through them with Riptide faster than any of them could yelp. I kept climbing – past another telkhine who was so startled he dropped his Li'l Demons lunchbox. I left him alive – partly because his lunchbox was pretty damn cool, partly so he could raise the alarm and hopefully get his friends to follow me, rather than head towards the engine room.

I burst through a door onto deck six and kept running. I'm sure the carpeted hall had once been very plush, but over the last three years of monster occupation the wallpaper, carpet and stateroom doors had been clawed up and slimed so it looked like the inside of a dragon's throat (and, yes, unfortunately I speak from experience).

Back on my first visit to the Princess Andromeda, my old enemy Luke had kept some dazed tourists on board for show, shrouded in Mist so they didn't realise they were on a monster-infested ship. Now, there was absolutely no sign of any tourists. I hated to think what might have happened to them, but I really doubted that they'd been allowed to return home with their bingo winnings.

I reached the promenade, a big shopping mall that took up the whole middle of the ship, and I stopped cold. In the middle of the courtyard stood a fountain.

No, the fountain wasn't what made me stop cold.

In the fountain squatted a giant crab.

I'm not talking 'giant' like $7.99 all-you-can-eat Alaskan king crab. I'm talking 'giant' like_ bigger than the freaking fountain_. The monster rose three metres out of the water. Its shell was mottled blue and green, its pincers longer than my body.

If you've ever seen a crab's mouth, all foamy and gross with whiskers and snapping bits, you can imagine this one didn't look any better blown up to billboard size. Its beady black eyes were trained on me, and I could see intelligence in them – and hate. The fact that I was the son of the sea god was not going to win me any points with Mr Crabby.

"FFFFffffffff," it hissed, sea foam dripping from its mouth. The smell coming off it was like a garbage can full of fish sticks that had been sitting in the sun all week.

Alarms blared. Soon I was going to have lots of company and I had to keep moving.

"Hey, crabby." I inched around the edge of the courtyard. "I'm just gonna scoot around you so –"

The crab moved with such amazing speed. It scuttled out of the fountain and came straight at me, pincers snapping. I dived into a gift shop, ploughing through a rack of T-shirts. A crab pincer smashed the glass walls to pieces and raked across the room. I dashed back outside, breathing heavily, but Mr Crabby turned and followed.

"There!" a voice yelled from a balcony above me. "Intruder!"

If I had wanted to create a distraction, I had certainly succeeded, but this wasn't where I wanted to fight. If I got pinned down in the centre of the ship, I was crab chow.

The demonic crustacean lunged at me. I sliced with Riptide, taking off the tip of its claw. It hissed and foamed, but it seemed more irritated then hurt.

I tried to remember anything from the old stories that might help with this thing. Annabeth had told me about a monster crab – something about Hercules crushing it under his foot? Well, that was going to work wonders, I wondered how the crab would appreciate a Reebok imprint on it's shell, coz the damn thing was a Hades of a lot bigger than my shoes.

Then a weird thought came to me. Last Christmas, my mom and I had brought Paul Blofis to our old cabin at Montauk, where we'd been going forever. Paul had taken me crabbing, and when he'd brought up a net full of the things, he'd shown me how crabs have a chink in their armour, right in the middle of their ugly bellies.

The only problem here was me getting to that ugly belly. Not that I was particularly keen on getting there, but I had to get away from the centre of the ship, and rendezvous with Beckendorf.

I glanced at the fountain, then the marble floor, already slick from scuttling crab tracks. I held out my hand, and the fountain exploded. Water sprayed everywhere, three stories high, dousing the balconies and the elevators and the windows of the shop. The crab didn't care. It loved water. It came at me sideways, snapping and hissing, and I ran straight at it, screaming, "AHHHHHHHHH!"

Just before we collided, I hit the ground baseball-style and slid on the soaking marble floor straight under the creature. It was like sliding under a seven-ton armoured vehicle. All the crab had to do was sit and squash me, but before it realised what was going on, I jabbed Riptide into the chink in its armour, let go of the hilt and pushed myself out the other side.

The monster shuddered and hissed. Its eyes dissolved. Its shell turned bright red as its insides evaporated. The empty shell crashed to the floor in a massive heap.

I didn't have time to admire my handiwork, but I silently thanked Paul for the info on how to defeat giant killer crabs. I ran for the nearest stairs while all around me monsters and demigods shouted orders and strapped on their weapons. I was empty-handed for now. But Riptide, being magic, would appear back in my pocket sooner or later, but for now it was stuck somewhere under the wreckage of the crab, and I had no time to retrieve it.

In the elevator foyer on deck eight, a couple of dracaenae slithered across my path. From the waist up, they were women with green scaly skin, yellow eyes and forked tongues. From the waist down they had double snake trunks instead of legs. They held up spears and weighted nets, and I knew from experience they could use them.

"What isss thissss?" one said. "A prize for Kronosss!"

I wasn't in the mood to play break-the-sneak, but in front of me was a stand with a model of the ship, like a YOU ARE HERE display. I ripped the model off the pedestal and hurled it at the first dracaena. The boat smacked her in the face and she went down with the ship. I jumped over her, grabbed her friend's spear and swung her around. She slammed into the elevator and I kept running towards the front of the ship.

"Get him!" she screamed.

Hellhounds bayed. An arrow from somewhere whizzed past my face and impaled itself in the mahogany-panelled wall of the stairwell, but I didn't care, I was on a mission, and I was focused on accomplishing it, I _had _to keep the monsters away from Beckendorf, and give him enough time to rig the charges.

This mission had to be a success; otherwise, New York would be overrun.

As I was running up the stairwell, a kid charged down. He looked like he had only just woken up from a nap. His armour was only half on. He drew his sword and yelled, "Kronos!" but he sounded terrified, not angry. He couldn't have been more than twelve – around the same age I was when I first arrived at Camp Half-Blood.

That thought depressed me. This kid was brainwashed – trained to hate the gods and lash out because he'd been born half-Olympian. Kronos was using him, and yet the kid thought _I _was his enemy.

No way was I going to hurt him. I didn't need a weapon for this. I stepped inside his strike and grabbed his wrist, slamming it against the wall. His sword clattered out of his hand.

Then I did something I probably shouldn't have, I didn't plan on doing it, but I couldn't stand to see brainwashed demigods_ die _because they didn't know any better. It almost definitely jeopardized our mission and it was incredibly stupid of me, but I couldn't help it.

"If you want to live," I warned him, "get off this ship _now_. Tell the other demigods." Then I shoved him down the stairs and sent him tumbling to the next floor.

I kept climbing.

Bad memories: a hallway ran past the cafeteria. Annabeth, my half-brother Tyson and I had sneaked through here three years ago on my first visit.

I burst outside onto the main deck. Off the port bow, the sky was darkening from purple to black. A swimming pool glowed between two glass towers with more balconies and restaurant decks. The whole upper ship seemed eerily deserted.

All I had to do was cross to the other side. Then I could take the staircase down to the helipad – our emergency rendezvous point. With any luck, Beckendorf would meet me there. We'd jump into the sea. My water powers would protect us both, and we'd detonate the charges from a quarter of a mile away.

Of course, our luck is just never that perfect.

I was halfway across the deck when the sound of a voice made me freeze.

"You're late, Percy."

Luke stood on the balcony above me, a smile on his scarred face. He wore jeans, a white T-shirt and flip-flops, like he was just a normal college-aged guy, but his eyes told the truth. They were solid gold.

"We've been expecting you for days." At first he sounded normal, like Luke. But then his face twitched. A shudder passed through his body like he'd just drunk something really nasty. His voice became heavier, ancient and powerful – the voice of the Titan lord Kronos. The words scraped down my spine like a knife blade.

"Come, bow before me," he said, a small smirk on his face.

"Yeah, that'll happen," I muttered back, glaring up at Luke's face.

Laistrygonian giants filed out on either side of the swimming pool, as if they'd been waiting for a cue. Each was two and a half metres tall with tattooed arms, leather armour and spiked clubs. Demigod archers appeared on the roof above Luke. Two hellhounds leaped down from the opposite balcony and snarled at me. Within seconds, I was surrounded. A trap: there's no way they could've got into position so fast unless they knew I was coming.

I looked up at Luke and anger boiled inside me. I didn't know if Luke's consciousness was even still alive inside that body. Maybe, the way his voice had changed… or maybe it was just Kronos adapting to his new form. I told myself that it didn't matter. Luke had been twisted and evil long before Kronos possessed him.

A voice in my head said: _I have to fight him eventually. Why not now?_

According to that big prophecy, I was supposed to make a choice that saved or destroyed the world when I was sixteen. That was only fourteen days away. Why not now? If I really had the power, what difference would a couple of weeks make? I could end this threat right here by taking down Kronos. Hey, I'd fought monsters and gods before.

As if reading my thoughts, Luke's smirk grew bigger. No. He was _Kronos_. I needed to remember that.

"Come forward," he said, "if you dare."

The crowd of monsters parted. I moved up the stairs, my heart pounding. I was sure somebody would stab me in the back, but they let me pass. I felt my pocket and found my pen waiting. I uncapped it and Riptide grew into a sword.

Kronos's weapon appeared in his hands – a two-metre-long scythe, half celestial bronze, half mortal steel. Just looking at the thing made my knees turn to Jell-O. But before I could change my mind I charged.

Time slowed down. I mean _literally _slowed down, because Kronos had that power. I felt like I was moving through syrup. My arms were so heavy I could barely raise my sword. Kronos smiled, swirling his scythe at normal speed and waiting for me to creep towards my death.

I tried to fight his magic. I concentrated on the sea around me – the source of my power. I'd got better at channelling it over the years, but now nothing seemed to happen.

I took another slow step forward. Giants jeered. _Dracaenae _hissed with laugher.

_Hey, ocean, _I pleaded. _Any day now would be good._

Suddenly there was a wrenching pain in my gut. The entire boat lurched sideways, throwing monsters off their feet. Four thousand gallons of salt water surged out of the swimming pool, dousing me and Kronos and everyone on the deck. The water revitalised me, breaking the time spell, and I lunged forward.

I struck at Kronos but I was still too slow. I made the mistake of looking at his face – _Luke's face_, a guy who was once my friend. As much as I hated him, it was hard to kill him.

Kronos had no such hesitation. He sliced downward with his scythe. I leaped back and the evil blade missed by a millimetre, cutting a gash in the deck right between my feet.

I kicked Kronos in the chest. He stumbled backwards, but he was heavier than Luke should've been. It was like kicking a refrigerator.

Kronos swung his scythe again. I intercepted with Riptide, but his strike was so powerful my blade could only deflect it. The edge of the scythe shaved off my shirtsleeve and grazed my arm. It shouldn't have been a serious cut, but the entire side of my body exploded with pain. I remembered what a sea-demon had once said about Kronos's scythe: _Careful, fool. One touch, and the blade will sever your soul from your body_. Now I understood what he meant. I wasn't just losing blood. I could feel my strength, my will, my identity draining away.

I stumbled backwards, switched my sword to my left hand and lunged desperately. My blade should've run him through, but it deflected off his stomach like I was hitting solid marble. There was no way he should've survived that.

Kronos laughed. "A poor performance, Percy Jackson. Luke tells me you were never his match at swordplay."

My vision started to blur. I knew I didn't have much time.

"Luke had a big head," I said. "But at least it was _his _head."

"A shame to kill you now," Kronos mused, "before the final plans unfold. I would love to see the terror in your eyes when I realise how I will destroy Olympus. Even your own flesh and blood won't be standing alongside you then, I made sure to that many years ago."

The last part of his speech didn't register in my head properly. Flesh and blood? The only flesh and blood relatives I had in New York was my mother. And there was no way in Tartarus I was letting her get involved in the war. Tyson was my half-brother on my dad's side, and gods don't _technically _count as flesh and blood, as they don't really have DNA. Kronos's statement severely confused me, but I pushed it aside to focus on later.

"You'll never get this boat to Manhattan," I murmured, black spots dancing in my vision.

"Oh? And why would that be?" Kronos's golden eyes glittered. His face – Luke's face – seemed like a mask, unnatural and lit from behind by some evil power. "Perhaps you are counting on your friend with the explosives?"

He looked down at the pool and called, "Nakamura!"

A teenage guy in full Greek armour pushed through the crowd. His left eye was covered with a black patch. I knew him, of course: Ethan Nakamura, the son of Nemesis.

I'd saved his life in the Labyrinth last summer and, in return, the little punk helped Kronos come back to life.

"Success, my lord," Ethan called. "We found him just as we were told."

He clapped his hands and two giants lumbered forward, dragging Charles Beckendorf between them. My heart almost stopped. Beckendorf had a swollen eye and cuts all over his face and arms. His armour was gone and his shirt was almost torn off.

"No!" I yelled.

Beckendorf met my eyes. He glanced at his watch hand like he was trying to tell me something. _His watch_. They hadn't taken it yet, and that was the detonator. Was it possible the explosives were armed? Surely the monsters would've dismantled them right away.

"We found him amidships," one of the giants said, "trying to sneak into the engine room. Can we eat him now?"

"Soon." Kronos scowled at Ethan. "Are you sure he didn't set the explosives?"

"He was going _towards _the engine room, my lord."

"How do you know that?"

"Er…" Ethan shifted uncomfortably. "He was heading in that direction. And he told us. His bag is still full of explosives."

Slowly, I began to understand. Beckendorf had fooled them. When he'd realised he was going to be captured, he turned to make it look like he was going the other way. He'd convinced them he hadn't made it to the engine room yet. The Greek fire might still be primed! But that didn't do us any good unless we could get off the ship and detonate it.

Kronos hesitated.

_Buy the story_, I prayed. The pain in my arm was so bad now I could barely stand.

"Open his bag," Kronos ordered.

One of the giants ripped the explosives satchel from Beckendorf's shoulders. He peered inside, grunted and turned it upside down. Panicked monsters surged backwards. If the bag really had been full of Greek fire jars, we would've all blown up. But what fell out were a dozen cans of peaches.

I could hear Kronos breathing, trying to control his anger.

"Did you, perhaps, send someone to actually CHECK THE ENGINE ROOM?"

Ethan scrambled back in terror, then turned on his heels and ran.

I cursed silently. Now we had only minutes before the bombs were disarmed. I caught Beckendorf's eyes again and asked a silent question, hoping he would understand: _How long?_

He cupped his fingers and thumb, making a circle, _ZERO_. There was no delay on the timer at all. If he managed to press the detonator button, the ship would blow at once. We'd never be able to get far enough away before using it. The monsters would kill us first, or disarm the explosives, or both.

Kronos turned towards me with a crooked smile.

"You'll have to excuse my incompetent help, Percy Jackson, but it doesn't matter. We have you now. And soon, I'll have an even greater servant in my arsenal, someone you should have known about, if not for the gods." For a moment, Kronos's eyes flashed blue – like Luke's – and a look of anger crossed his face, but it faded just as quickly as it came on.

Suddenly, an image flashed in my mind, blocking out my vision. It was a face, a boy's, possibly the same age as me, and he looked almost the _same _as me. He had dark brown hair instead of black, one of his eyes was a deep sea green, like mine, but the other kept flashing between electric blue, black, and occasionally, gold.

Just as quickly as the image blocked out my vision, it disappeared.

My head throbbed, and I sluggishly held a hand up to it.

I could see Kronos smirking at me.

"He's coming closer to release," Kronos said. "If you are seeing him now, his presence is getting closer."

_What? _I thought, _who's getting closer to release?_

"But that doesn't matter for now," Kronos added, dismissively waving a hand. "We have known you were coming for weeks."

He held out his hand and dangled a little silver bracelet with a scythe charm – the Titan lord's symbol.

The wound in my arm and the headache from the vision was severely sapping my ability to think, but I muttered, "Communication device… spy at camp."

Kronos chuckled. "You can't count of friends… or gods for that matter. They will _always _let you down. Luke learned that lesson the hard way. Now drop your sword and surrender to me, or your friend dies."

I swallowed. One of the giants had his hand around Beckendorf's neck. I was in no shape to rescue him and, even if I tried, he would die before I got there. We both would.

Beckendorf mouthed one word: _Go_.

I shook my head. I couldn't just leave him.

The second giant was still rummaging through the peach cans, which meant Beckendorf's left arm was free. He raised it slowly – towards the watch on his right wrist.

I wanted to scream, _NO!_

Then down by the swimming pool one of the _dracaenae _hissed, "What isss he doing? What isss on hisss wrissst?"

Beckendorf closed his eyes tight and brought his hand up to his watch.

I had no choice. I threw my sword like a javelin at Kronos. It bounced harmlessly off his chest, but it did startle him. I pushed through a crowd of monsters and jumped off the side of the ship – towards the water thirty metres below.

I heard rumbling deep in the ship. Monsters yelled at me from above. A spear sailed past my ear. An arrow pierced my thigh, but I barely had time to register the pain. I plunged into the sea and willed the currents to take me far, far away – fifty metres, a hundred metres.

Even from a distance, the explosion shook the world. Heat seared the back of my head. The Princess Andromeda blew up from both sides, a massive fireball of green flame roiling into the dark sky, consuming everything.

_Beckendorf, _I thought.

Then I blacked out and sank like an anchor towards the bottom of the sea, the last thing I saw was the image of the boys face.

Who are you? EOC

**So, what did you think? I've tried my hardest to add in bits of my storyline, and not drift too far from the original as of yet, but as the chapters go on, it should split away from the canon.**

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	3. I Meet My Fishy Relatives

Demigod dreams suck.

The thing is, they're never just _dreams_. They've got to be visions, omens and all that other mystical stuff that makes my brain hurt. As if my head didn't already hurt enough as it was.

I dreamed I was in a dark palace at the top of a mountain. Unfortunately, I recognised it: the palace of the Titans on top of Mount Othrys, otherwise known as Mount Tamalpais in California. The main pavilion was open to the night, ringed with black Greek columns and statues of the Titans. Torchlight glowed against the black marble floor. In the centre of the room, an armoured giant struggled under the weight of a swirling funnel cloud – Atlas, holding up the sky.

Two other giant men stood nearby over a bronze brazier, studying an image in the flames.

"Quite an explosion," one said. He wore black armour studded with silver dots like a starry night. His face was covered in a war helm with a ram's horn curling on either side.

"It doesn't matter," the other said. This Titan was dressed in gold robes, with golden eyes like Kronos. His entire body glowed. He reminded me of Apollo, god of the sun, except the Titan's light was harsher, and his expression crueller. "The gods have answered the challenge. Soon they will be destroyed."

The images in the fire were hard to make out: storms, buildings crumbling, mortals screaming in terror.

"I will go east to marshal our forces," the golden Titan said. "Krios, you shall remain and guard Mount Othrys."

The ram-horn dude grunted. "I always get the stupid jobs. Lord of the South. Lord of Constellations. Now I get to babysit Atlas while _you _have all the fun."

Under the whirlwind of clouds, Atlas bellowed in agony.

"Let me out curse you! I am your greatest warrior. Take my burden so I may fight!"

"Quiet!" the golden Titan roared. "You had your chance, Atlas. You failed. Kronos likes you just where you are. As for you, Krios: do your duty."

"And if you need more warriors?" Krios asked. "Our treacherous nephew in the tuxedo will not do you much good in a fight."

The golden Titan laughed. "Don't worry about him. Besides, the gods can barely handle our first little challenge. They have no idea how many others we have in store. Especially _him_."

Both Titans shuddered at the mention of "him."

"Mark my words, in a few days' time, Olympus will be in ruins, and we will meet here again to celebrate the dawn of the Sixth Age!"

The golden Titan erupted into flames and disappeared.

"Oh, sure," Krios grumbled. "He gets to erupt into flames. I get to wear these stupid rams' horns."

The scene shifted. Now I was outside the pavilion, hiding in the shadows of a Greek column. A boy stood next to me, eavesdropping on the Titans. He had dark silky hair, pale skin and dark clothes – my friend Nico di Angelo, the son of Hades.

He looked straight at me, his expression grim.

"You see, Percy?" he whispered. "You're running out of time. Do you really think you can beat them without my plan?"

His words washed over me as cold as the ocean floor, and my dreams shifted and morphed, and all of a sudden I was staring into some bright sea-green eyes. They looked troubled and haunted – scared even.

I realised with a jolt that this was the same face that I had seen earlier aboard the Princess Andromeda.

The dream wavered slightly and I noticed that I was with the boy in an apartment, _my _apartment. I watched, frozen in fear, tears streaming down my face as the boy relentlessly and mercilessly slashed and sliced through _hundreds _of monsters, only every now and again throwing a glance over his shoulder to make sure I was okay.

After what seemed like an age, the boy had defeated the army of monsters. He seemed slightly the worse for wear, his clothes torn and a couple of cuts and bruises. He went into the bedroom and emerged a few minutes later, a bag slung over his shoulder. He approached me and bent down to my level.

It was then I realised that I couldn't have been older than seven.

"Don't worry, Perce," he said, soothingly. "I made all the baddies go away, you don't have to cry anymore."

He reached over and wiped the tears from my eyes, and we looked at each other for a while. Sea-green eyes stared into sea-green eyes. After a few seconds, the boy frowned sadly.

"I'm going to have to go away for a while, Perce," he said, his eyes glistening with tears.

"Why?" I heard myself croak. I could feel tears building in my eyes as well.

"To make sure the baddies go away properly, I need to make sure you and mom are safe," he explained. "But don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

He kissed my forehead, stood up, flashed me a bright smile, before turning and exiting the apartment.

As he reached the doorway, he turned and observed me one last time, as if he was trying to make sure he remembered every detail of the moment.

"Every time you think you're alone, Percy, just remember, that you've got people watching over you, powerful people, who will protect you," he said, before he sighed and smirked. "But there will come a time when you don't need protecting, and in that moment, just remember, that I'll always be looking out for you and will always love you, my brother."

A lone tear rolled down his face as he walked out the apartment and slammed the door shut. The vision seemed to ripple like water and started to fade to black.

"Percy?" a deep voice said.

My head felt it had been microwaved in tinfoil. I opened my eyes and saw a large shadowy figure looming over me.

"Beckendorf?" I asked hopefully.

"No, brother."

The image of the boy from my dream flared into my vision again, making my head throb once more. But as quickly as it came, it had passed, but it left a lasting impression.

_Who are you? _I thought. _I don't remember that ever happening, so why did that vision come to me now?_

"Brother? Are you okay?"

My eyes refocused. I was looking at a Cyclops – a misshapen face, ratty brown hair, one big brown eye full of concern.

"Tyson?"

My brother broke into a toothy grin.

"Yay! Your brain works!"

I wasn't so sure. My body felt weightless and cold. My voice sounded wrong. I could hear Tyson, but it was more like I was hearing vibrations in my skull, not the regular sounds.

I sat up and a gossamer sheet floated away. I was on a bed made of silky woven kelp, in a room panelled with abalone shell. Glowing pearls the size of basketballs floated around the ceiling, providing light. I was underwater.

Now, being the son of Poseidon and all, I was okay with this. I can breathe underwater just fine, and my clothes don't even get wet unless I want them to. But it was still a bit of a shock when a hammerhead shark drifted through the bedroom window, regarded me and then swam calmly out the opposite side of the room.

"Where – "

"Daddy's palace," Tyson said.

Under different circumstances, I would've been excited. I'd never visited Poseidon's realm, and I'd been dreaming about it for years. But my head hurt. My shirt was still speckled with burn marks from the explosion. My arm and legs wounds had healed – just being in the ocean can do that for me, given enough time – but I still felt like I'd been trampled like a Laistrygonian rugby team in studs.

Not to mention the image of that boy's face constantly burning it's way into my retinas and giving me a migraine.

"How long – "

"We found you last night," Tyson said, "sinking through the water."

"The Princess Andromeda?"

"Went ka-boom," Tyson confirmed.

"Beckendorf was on board. Did you find…"

Tyson's face darkened. "No sign of him. I am sorry, brother."

I stared out of the window into deep blue water. Beckendorf was supposed to go to college in the fall. He had a girlfriend, lots of friends, his whole life ahead of him. He couldn't be _gone_. Maybe he'd made it off the ship like I had. Maybe he'd jumped over the side… and what? He couldn't have survived a thirty-metre fall into the water like I could. He couldn't put enough distance between himself and the explosion.

I knew in my gut he was dead. He'd sacrificed himself to take out the Princess Andromeda, and I had abandoned him.

I thought about my dream: the Titans discussing the explosions as if it didn't matter, Nico di Angelo warning me that I would never beat Kronos without following his plan – a dangerous idea I'd been avoiding for over a year.

And then, yet again, the boy's face flashed into my vision, and my head throbbed. Who was this guy? Ever since Kronos had mentioned getting a greater servant into his arsenal, that image kept finding it's way into my head.

A distant blast shook the room – and me out of my thoughts. Green light blazed outside, turning the whole sea as bright as noon.

"What was that?" I asked.

Tyson looked worried. "Daddy will explain. Come, he is blowing up monsters.

The palace might have been the most amazing place I'd ever seen if it hadn't been in the process of getting destroyed. We swam to the end of a long hallway and shot upward on a geyser. As we rose over the rooftops, I caught my breath – well, if you can catch your breath underwater.

The palace was as big as the city on Mount Olympus, with wide courtyards, gardens and columned pavilions. The gardens were sculpted with coral colonies and glowing sea plants. Twenty or thirty buildings were made of abalone, white but gleaming with rainbow colours. Fish and octopi darted in and out of the windows. The paths were lined with glowing pearls like Christmas lights.

The main courtyard was filled with warriors – mermen with fish tails from the waist down and human bodies from the waist up, except their skin was blue, which I'd never known before. Some were tending the wounded. Some were sharpening spears and swords. One passed us swimming in a hurry. His eyes were bright green, like that stuff they put in glow sticks, and his teeth were shark teeth. They don't show you that stuff in _The Little Mermaid_.

Outside the main courtyard stood large fortifications – towers, walls and anti-siege weapons – but most of these had been smashed to ruins. Others were blazing with a strange green light that I knew well – Greek fire, which can burn even underwater.

Beyond this, the sea floor stretched into gloom. I could see battles raging – flashes of energy, explosions, the glint of armies clashing. A regular human would've found it too hard to see. Heck, a regular human would've been crushed by the pressure and frozen by the cold. Even my heat-sensitive eyes couldn't make out exactly what was going on.

At the edge of the palace complex, a temple with a red coral roof exploded, sending fire sending fire and debris streaming in slow motion across the furthest gardens. Out of the darkness above, an enormous form appeared – a squid larger than any skyscraper. It was surrounded by a glittering cloud of dust – at least I thought it was dust until I realised it was a swarm of mermen, trying to attack the monster. The squid descended on the palace and swatted its tentacles, smashing a whole column of warriors. Then a brilliant arc of blue light shot from the rooftop of one of the tallest buildings. The light hit the giant squid and the monster dissolved like food colouring in water.

"Daddy," Tyson said, pointing to where the light had come from.

"_He _did that?" I suddenly felt more hopeful. My dad had unbelievable powers. He was the god of the sea. He could deal with this attack, right? Maybe he'd let me help.

"Have you been in the fight?" I asked Tyson in awe. "Like, bashing heads with your awesome Cyclops strength and stuff?"

Tyson pouted, and immediately I knew I'd asked a bad question.

"I have been… fixing weapons," he mumbled. "Come. Let's go find Daddy."

I know this might sound weird to people with, like, regular parents, but I'd only seen my dad four or five times in my life, and never for more than a few minutes. The Greek gods don't exactly show up for their kids' basketball games. Still, I thought I'd recognise Poseidon on sight.

I was wrong.

The roof of the temple was a big open deck that had been set up as a command centre. A mosaic on the floor showed an exact map of the palace grounds and the surrounding ocean, but the mosaic moved. Coloured stone tiles representing different armies and sea monsters shifted around as the forces changed position. Buildings that collapsed in real life also collapsed in the picture.

Standing around the mosaic, grimly studying the battle, was a strange assortment of warriors, but none of them looked like my dad. I was searching for a guy with a good tan and a black beard, wearing Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt.

There was nobody like that. One guy was a merman with two fish tails instead of one. His skin was green and his armour studded with pearls. His black hair was tied in a ponytail and he looked young – though it's hard to tell with non-humans. They could be a thousand years old or three. Standing next to him was an old man with a bushy white beard and grey hair. His battle armour seemed to weigh him down. He had green eyes and smile wrinkles around his eyes, but he wasn't smiling now. He was studying the map and leaning on a large metal staff. To his right stood a beautiful woman in green armour with flowing black hair and strange little horns like crab claws. And there was a dolphin – just a regular dolphin, but it was staring at the map intently.

"Delphin," the old man said. "Send Palaemon and his legion of sharks to the western front. We have to neutralize those leviathans."

The dolphin spoke in a chattering voice, but I could understand it in my mind: _Yes Lord! _It sped away.

I looked at dismay at Tyson, then back at the old man.

It didn't seem possible, but... "Dad?" I asked.

The old man looked up. I recognised the twinkle in his eyes, but his face... he looked like he'd aged forty years.

"Hello, Percy."  
"What – what happened to you?"

Tyson nudged me. He was shaking his head so hard I was afraid it would fall off, but Poseidon didn't look offended.

"It's all right, Tyson," he said. "Percy, excuse my appearance. The war has been hard on me."

"But you're immortal," I said quietly. "You can look... any way you want."

"I reflect the state of my realm," he said. "And right now that state is quite grim. Percy, I should introduce you – I'm afraid you just missed my lieutenant Delphin, god of the dolphins. This is my, er, wife, Amphitrite. My dear –"

The lady in green armour stared at me coldly then crossed her arms and said, "Excuse me, my lord. I am needed in the battle."

She swam away.

I felt pretty awkward, but I guess I couldn't blame her. I'd never thought about it much, but my dad had an immortal wife. All his romances with mortals, including with my mom... well, Amphitrite probably didn't like that much.

Poseidon cleared his throat. "Yes, well... and this is my son Triton. Er, my _other _son."

"Your son and heir," the green dude corrected. His double fishtails swished back and forth. He smiled at me, but there was no friendliness in his eyes. "Hello. Perseus Jackson. Come to help at last?"

He acted like I was late or lazy. If you can blush underwater, I probably did.

"Tell me what to do," I said.

Triton smiled like that was a cute suggestion – like I was a slightly amusing dog that had barked for him or something. He turned to Poseidon. "I will see to the front line, Father. Don't worry. _I _will not fail."

He nodded politely to Tyson. How come I didn't get that much respect? Then he shot off into the water.

Poseidon sighed. He raised his staff and it changed into his regular weapon – a huge three-pointed trident. The tips glowed with blue light and the water around it boiled with energy.

"I'm sorry about that," he told me.

A huge sea serpent appeared from above us and spiralled down towards the roof. It was bright orange with a fanged mouth big enough to swallow a gymnasium.

Hardly looking up, Poseidon pointed his trident at the beast and zapped it with blue energy. _Ka-boom! _The monster burst into a million goldfish, which all swam off in terror.

"My family is anxious," Poseidon continued, as if nothing had happened. "The battle against Oceanus is going poorly."

He pointed to the edge of the mosaic. With the butt of his trident, he tapped the image of a merman larger than the rest, with the horns of a bull. He appeared to be riding a chariot pulled by crawfish, and instead of a sword he wielded a live serpent.

"Oceanus," I said, trying to remember. "The Titan of the sea?"

Poseidon nodded. "He was neutral in the first war of gods and Titans. But Kronos has convinced him to fight. This is... well, it's not a good sign. Oceanus would not commit unless he was sure he could pick the winning side."

"He looks stupid," I said, trying to sound upbeat. "I mean, who fights with a snake?"

"Daddy will tie it in knots," Tyson said firmly.

Poseidon smiled, but he looked weary. "I appreciate your faith. We have been at war almost a year now. My powers are taxed. And still he finds new forces to throw at me – sea monsters so ancient I had forgotten about them."

I heard an explosion in the distance. About half a mile away, a mountain of coral disintegrated under the weight of two giant creatures. I could dimly make out their shapes. One was a lobster. The other was a giant humanoid like a Cyclops, but he was surrounded by a flurry of limbs. At first I thought he was wearing a bunch of giant octopi. Then I realised they were his own arms – a hundred flailing, fighting arms.

"Briares!" I said.

I was happy to see him, but he looked like he was fighting for his life. He was the last of his kind – a Hundred-handed One, cousin of the Cyclopes. We'd saved him from Kronos's prison last summer and I knew he'd come to help Poseidon, but I hadn't heard of him since.

"He fights well," Poseidon said. "I wish we had a whole army like him, but he is only one."  
I watched as Briares bellowed in rage and picked up the lobster, which thrashed and snapped its pincers. He threw it off the coral mountain and the lobster disappeared into the darkness. Briares swam after it, his hundred arms spinning like the blades of a motorboat.

"Percy, we may not have much time," my dad said. "Tell me of your mission. Did you see Kronos?"

I told him almost everything, though my voice choked up when I explained about Beckendorf. I left out the part where Kronos mentioned my own flesh and blood turning against me whilst Tyson was there, as I didn't think that he'd understand that he _wasn't _my flesh and blood brother, and the poor guy would get upset.

I looked down at the courtyards below and saw hundreds of wounded mermen lying on makeshift cots. I saw rows of coral mounds that must've been hastily made graves. I realised that Beckendorf wasn't the first death. He was only one of hundreds, maybe thousands. I'd never felt so angry and helpless.

Poseidon stroked his beard. "Percy, Beckendorf chose a heroic death. You bear no blame for that. Kronos's army will be in disarray. Many were destroyed."  
"But we didn't kill him, did we?"

As I said it, I knew it was a naive hope. We might blow up his ship and disintegrate his monsters, but a Titan lord wouldn't be so easy to kill.

"No," Poseidon admitted. "But you've bought our side some time."

"There were demigods on that ship," I said, thinking of the kid I'd seen in the stairwell. Somehow I'd convinced myself to concentrate on the monsters and Kronos. I'd convinced myself that destroying their ship was all right because they were evil, they were sailing to attack my city and, besides, they couldn't really be permanently killed. Monsters just vaporized and re-formed eventually. But demigods...

Poseidon put his hand on my shoulder. "Percy, there were only a few demigod warriors aboard that ship, and they all chose to battle for Kronos. Perhaps some heeded your warning and escaped. If they did not... they chose their path."

"They were brainwashed!" I said. "Now they're dead and Kronos is still alive. That's supposed to make me feel better?"

I glared at the mosaic – little tile explosions destroying tile monsters. It seemed so easy when it was just a picture.

Tyson put his arm around me. If anybody else had tried that, I would've pushed them away, but Tyson was too big and stubborn. He hugged me whether I wanted it or not.

"Not your fault, brother." Just hearing Tyson say that made me cringe when I remembered Kronos's warning – an action that didn't go unnoticed by Poseidon, who raised an eyebrow at me. _Later _I mouthed back, to which Poseidon just nodded.

"Kronos does not explode good," Tyson continued. "Next time we will use a big stick."

"Percy," my father said. "Beckendorf's sacrifice wasn't in vain. You have scattered the invasion force. New York will be safe for a time, which frees the other Olympians to deal with the bigger threat."

"The bigger threat?" I thought about what the golden Titan had said in my dream: _The gods have answered the challenge. Soon they will be destroyed._

I suddenly remembered what else had been said: _the gods can barely handle our first little challenge. They have no idea how many others we have in store. Especially __him__._

The face of the boy flared in my vision again, and I felt my legs give way as the headache came surging back, with black dots once again encroaching on my vision, the boy's face the only thing I could see. I was vaguely aware of Tyson and Poseidon calling out to me.

It took me a few moments but I eventually managed to recover and the vision faded from my vision, I had ended up on my knees clutching my head when I came to.

"Percy," my father's voice broke through my daze.

"Dad, is it alright if we have a talk quickly?" I asked, looking up, my headache seeming to fade as I locked eyes with Poseidon, I briefly glanced at Tyson so that Poseidon was aware that I meant alone.

"Tyson, could you please give us a minute?" Poseidon asked. Tyson looked confused but nodded and shuffled out of the room, throwing me concerned looks.

I smiled at him and stood back up. "We won't be long Tyson; I'll see you in a sec, okay?" I said, which prompted a satisfied smile and a hastier exit.

As soon as Tyson had left, Poseidon grabbed my shoulder and turned me so we were face-to-face, and he looked directly into my eyes, as if searching for something.

"What's wrong, Percy?" he asked. "You have seemed more troubled than I thought you would've been."

I gulped, Kronos's words flying back into my head.

"It was something that Kronos said," I started, rubbing my temple with my right hand.

Poseidon furrowed his brow. "Did you not tell me everything, son?" he asked, his eyes still searching mine, as if he'd find the answers in them.

"I didn't want to say it in front of Tyson," I said. "He wouldn't have understood it properly and gotten upset."

Poseidon nodded in understanding and prompted me to explain.

"Kronos kept mentioning something, _someone_, who he's releasing, from somewhere," I explained, carefully watching Poseidon's expression. "He was angry with his army and said that he would soon have an even greater servant in his arsenal."

Poseidon looked troubled, and I was wondering for a moment whether it was a good idea for me to drop this on him, he was already under stress from his own war, but he prompted me to continue.

"He then said that it was someone I should have known about, if it wasn't for the gods," I continued. "But when he said that, his eyes flashed blue, as if it was _Luke _talking."

Poseidon's eyes widened in shock, and for a minute, I saw a flash of hope, and his face seemed to look younger, but as soon as it came on, it vanished. I took note to ask after I'd finished talking.

"At that point, my whole vision became blurred, just like a few minutes ago, and all I could see was a face," I explained, I didn't bother to try and gauge Poseidon's reaction, as he had put on an emotionless mask as I explained. "And Kronos said that _he _was getting closer to release, because I could see his face."

Poseidon stroked his beard contemplatively.

"I'll tell you what I can momentarily, Percy," Poseidon said. "But first, what part of this was supposed to upset Tyson?"

I frowned that Tyson was the first thing that my dad thought of after I had told him this, but I let it slide.

"Kronos said that in the end even my own flesh and blood won't stand alongside me, that he made sure to that years ago," I explained.

Poseidon's eyes widened in shock, as if he'd gone on holiday for a couple of days and come home to find his house burnt down.

"Of course... how hadn't I realised it was all part of his plan?" he muttered, before his distant eyes focused back on me.

"What does it all mean, dad?" I asked, searching the god's expression for any sign that he was lying.

Poseidon frowned sadly at me, but I saw a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"A powerful being is rising, Percy," he said. "A being that you should have been aware of, had it not been the beings departing wish that it was forgotten by everyone who knew of it."

"What does that have to do with me and my visions?" I asked, having more questions than answers.

"When the time comes, it's up to you to make sure that this being is on our side," Poseidon said grimly, but I could still see the hope in his eyes. "There are only three people on this planet that could possibly sway this beings decision. I fear the task may fall to you, Percy, and it is vital that you succeed."

I felt like screaming. As if it wasn't bad enough that I had this "Great Prophecy" hanging over my head, now there was even more pressure on me.

"Great..." I gulped. "No pressure then."

Poseidon looked at me with sadness evident in his eyes; he clasped my left shoulder with his right hand.

"I have faith in you, Percy," he told me. "I have no doubt that you will succeed, you are one of the most powerful demigods I have ever seen."

That one line reinvigorated me; I almost flushed at my dad's praise. It was very rare that gods met with their demigod children, so to receive praise from them? I felt much better about myself in that moment.

"Who are the other two?" I asked, Poseidon seemed to flinch at my question. "And don't give me the _gods can't interfere _crap," I grinned slightly so that Poseidon knew that I wasn't being too harsh.

"Well... the only other person, other than you, who I'm sure could sway this being, is Thalia Grace," Poseidon muttered. This confused me even more.

"Thalia? Why her?" I asked, once more carefully watching Poseidon's expression.

"I have to draw the line here, Percy," Poseidon said. "The truth will come out, and you will know everything. Tyson, you can return now!"

He was avoiding the question, it was obvious, but I couldn't press him for an answer, as Tyson came rushing back into the room.

"Percy, you must return to camp, ask Chiron about the bigger threat," Poseidon ordered." I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Return to camp? But you're in trouble here. I want to help!" I exclaimed.

"You can't, Percy. Your job is elsewhere, as we have just discussed."

Most of me knew he was right, but I couldn't just leave without helping. I looked at Tyson for backup.

My brother chewed his lip. "Daddy... Percy can fight with a sword. He is good."

"I know that," Poseidon said gently.

"Dad, I can help," I said. "I know I can. You're not going to hold out here much longer."

A fireball launched into the sky from behind the enemy lines. I though Poseidon would deflect it or something, but it landed on the outer corner of the yard and exploded, sending mermen tumbling through the water. Poseidon winced as if he'd just been stabbed.

"Return to camp," he insisted. "And tell Chiron it is time."

"For what?"

"You must hear the prophecy. The _entire _prophecy."

I didn't need to ask him which prophecy. I'd been hearing about the aforementioned "Great Prophecy" for years, but nobody would ever tell me the whole thing. All I knew was that I was supposed to make a decision that would decide the fate of the world – but hey, no pressure.

"What if _this _is the decision?" I said. "Staying here to fight, or leaving? What if I leave and you..."

I couldn't say _die_. Gods weren't supposed to die but I'd seen it happen. Even if they didn't die, they could be reduced to nearly nothing, exiled, imprisoned in the depths of Tartarus like Kronos had been.

"Percy, you must go," Poseidon insisted. "I don't know what your final decision will be, but your fight lies in the world above. If nothing else, you must warn your friends at camp. Kronos knew your plans. You have a spy. We will hold here. We have no choice."

Tyson gripped my hand desperately. "I will miss you, brother!" Again, I couldn't help but cringe, remembering Kronos's words.

Watching us, our father seemed to age another ten years.

"Tyson, you have work to do as well, my son. They need you in the armoury."

Tyson pouted some more.

"I will go," he sniffled. He hugged me so hard he almost cracked my ribs. "Percy, be careful! Do not let monsters kill you dead!"

I tried to nod confidently, but it was too much for the big guy. He sobbed and swam away towards the armoury where his cousins were fixing spears and swords.

"You should let him fight," I told my father. "He hates being stuck in the armoury. Can't you tell?"

Poseidon shook his head. "It is bad enough I must send you into danger. Tyson is too young. I must protect him."  
"You should trust him," I said. "Not try to protect him."

Poseidon's eyes flared. I thought I'd gone too far, but then he looked down at the mosaic and his shoulders sagged. On the tiles, the mermaid guy in the crawfish chariot was coming closer to the palace.

"Oceanus approaches," my father said. "I must meet him in battle."

I'd never been scared for a god before, but I didn't see how my dad could face this Titan and win.

"I will hold," Poseidon promised. "I will not give up my domain. Just tell me, Percy, do you still have the birthday gift I gave you last summer?"

I nodded and pulled out my camp necklace. It had a bead for every summer I'd been at Camp Half-Blood, but since last year I'd also kept a sand dollar on the cord. My father had given it to me for my fifteenth birthday. He'd told me I would know when to "spend it," but so far I hadn't figured out what he meant. All I knew was that it didn't fit the vending machines in the school cafeteria.

"The time is coming," he promised. "With luck, I will see you for your birthday in two weeks, and we will have a proper celebration."

He smiled, and for a moment I saw the old light in his eyes.

Then the entire sea grew dark in front of us, like an inky storm was rolling in. Thunder crackled, which should've been impossible underwater. A huge icy presence was approaching. I sensed a wave of fear roll through the armies below us.

"I must assume my true godly form," Poseidon said. "Go – and good luck, my son."  
I wanted to encourage him, to hug him or something, but I knew better than to stick around. When a god assumes his true form, the power is so great that any mortal looking on him will disintegrate.

"Goodbye, Father," I managed.

Then I turned away. I willed the ocean currents to aid me. Water swirled around me and I shot towards the surface at speeds that would've caused any normal human to pop like a balloon.

When I looked back, all I could see were flashes of green and blue as my father fought the Titan and the sea itself was torn apart by the two armies.

My father's words echoed in my ears.

_I have faith in you, Percy_.

**EOC**

**So Percy is to be made aware of the Great Prophecy, and he and Thalia have a connection to the oncoming threat. The next chapter will be Thalia-centric, as we look more into her life, and why she differs so much in this story than in the original! I really hope you enjoyed.**

**Shoutout to the following new followers:**

**Cuckoocanoodle**

**Redshark141 (and favouriter!)**

**Daughterofposeidon12470**

**Sunnystar9**

**~SOP95~**


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